Exporting and the Environment

There are certain rules and regulations that must be followed when you export timber packaging outside of the European Community, if you get it wrong the costs and consequences can be very damaging.

What is ISPM15?

In order to protect worldwide stocks of trees and forests, the International Plant Protection Committee (IPPC) has taken regulatory action to control the global movement of wooden packaging in the form of ISPM15. The Forestry Commission is the UK's representative on the IPPC.

In essence ISPM15 stands for International Phytosanitary Standard for Wood Packaging (ISPM15) Regulations, which is regulatory action to help prevent the spread of destructive pests such as the Asian Longhorn Beetle and the Pine Wood Nematode.

Wooden packaging material is often made of unprocessed raw wood, which can provide a pathway for the introduction and spread of such pests if left untreated.

Will it affect me?

If you don’t export outside of the European Union countries then you will not need to do anything as the regulations only apply when exporting outside of the EU.

However, if you export wooden packaging containing any sawn timber, such as new or second-hand pallets, boxes, crates, cable drums, warehouse containers etc. outside of the EU you will be bound, in most instances, by these regulations and must comply. Please refer to the TIMCON website for a country-by-country compliance list.

Any packaging that is made solely from manufactured board such as plywood, OSB, chipboard etc. and uses no sawn timber at all, is exempt.

In all participating countries where the regulations apply, Customs and Border Control will inspect your packaging on arrival to find the ISPM 15 mark. If your packaging isn’t stamped, or the stamp is illegible, it could be rejected and returned or impounded for treatment by Customs and Border Control locally, for which you will be charged (charges have been know to be in the region of several thousand dollars per container).

What Must I Do To Comply?

You must ensure you use a supplier that is complicit with the regulations and is registered  with the Forestry Commission.

In order for timber to comply it must undergo…

• Heat treatment (of wood packaging), which requires heating of the timber to a minimum core temperature of 56C for a minimum of 30 minutes (HT).
  or
• Fumigation, using Methyl Bromide (MB) to the relevant specification.

In order to join to scheme, manufacturers need to demonstrate to a third party assessor that they meet the requirements. Registered manufacturers are then authorised to use to ISPM15 mark, which includes the country of origin and a unique manufacturer's registration number (see below).

 

How can Rowlinson Packaging help me?

One of our Managing Directors is also a Director of TIMCON (Timber Packaging and Pallet Confederation) so we receive the latest news first and at first hand, which means we can react to it and make best use of it.

Reacting to the news received, Rowlinson Packaging were the first wooden case maker in the UK to buy and install a heat chamber, specifically designed for heat treatment.

This allows us to treat either timber or finished cases and pallets from our site at Wardle in Cheshire, in the most cost effective manner.

The treatment (HT and MB) lasts for life, so there is no need to re-treat for returnable packaging.

Link to list of Timcon updates and Confederation news.

 

I Need More Information, where Can I Find It?

If you have any questions you can call John Williams at Rowlinson Packaging on 01829 260571 and he’ll be pleased to help you or you can go to:

          www.timcon.org
          www.forestry.gov.uk/planthealth

Concerned for the Environment

Far before it became ‘in vogue’ to be green Rowlinson Packaging had a policy of using sustainable sources.

 

Now of course we have the advantage of ISO14001, which Rowlinson Packaging Ltd operates to and dictates that all sources must be documented and traceable. Currently a variety of sources from the UK, Baltic States, Brazil and the Scandinavian countries are used for all our timber and sheet materials.

The latest, state of the art technology at the factory ensures that all the sawmill machinery is linked to a large extraction unit, which reduces the dust in the atmosphere to a minimum making the working environment better for all the staff.

 

The saw dust is also completely recycled, either as burning it as fuel to heat the factory, sending it to farmers for horse and pig bedding or supplying it to chip board manufacturers for use in their boards. The alternative would be for it to be dumped in landfill sites, and we don’t consider that an option.

Another great way we reduce wastage and increase efficiency is by using computers to recognise and cross reference off-cuts when cutting materials. Sizes that are required in smaller regular jobs can be used thereby making the best of materials and energy as well as reducing expended energy.

To complete the picture, all non-wood based waste is segregated where possible and recycled.

 

If you have any questions about ISPM 15 or any other element of the environment issue with exporting contact us now and we'll be pleased to help.